cplchanb
Senior Member
wasnt there a reported option for 16 more sets? That would for sure bring the total over 10000. Its not like all 10000 seats worth of cars will be used all at once.
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VIA Rail
- Thread starter ehlow
- Start date
wasnt there a reported option for 16 more sets? That would for sure bring the total over 10000. Its not like all 10000 seats worth of cars will be used all at once.
Urban Sky
Senior Member
Reliability is not the only driver of utilisation: having bidirectional trainsets and a standardised fleet will also have a huge effect...
steveintoronto
Superstar
It's uncanny as to the flag colours, but I'm absolutely no fan of the scheme, or the colours. They're later deep green looked exceptional albeit the yellow stripe is garish to say the least...perhaps it's a reflective strip for safety?
I do see a problem with the green used though, it appears it doesn't lend itself to being reproduced in the media accurately:
http://www.canadianrailwayobservations.com/2011/dec11/dec11 web/dec11via.htm
The grey and green work well together, VIA Rail is already invested in it, it just needs to be used more expressively...pun fully intended.
crs1026
Superstar
There will be economies, and operating gains, certainly.... no more wyeing at ends of routes, perhaps shorter layovers possible. I’m not sure that will boost seat miles, however. Being able to turn a train around at Windsor or Quebec in 30 minutes will not mean more trains are run to those points each day. Many consists are already mixed LRC/HEP, so while standardisation will improve maintenance processes, it may not translate to more cars available each day.
900 seats = 12ish coaches. That’s a lot of availability to have to absorb with tighter schedules etc. And, there will be attrition, hopefully not in serious accidents... but stuff happens.
I had hoped that this order would enable VIA to add service. The current fleet is stretched pretty thin. I guess it depends on whether any of the existing fleet can be stretched out to 2025 or beyond.
- Paul
littlewill1166
Active Member
There are options for an additional 16 new trainsets, I think the original plan was to keep the HEPIIs for a couple more years (which is why they are being renovated).
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/bombard...g-via-rail-blow-amid-nj-transit-win-1.1182266
micheal_can
Senior Member
With the new train sets being ordered, are they replacing older ones or are they being added to the fleet?
What will happen to the older ones if it is a replacement?
What will happen to the older ones if it is a replacement?
Urban Sky
Senior Member
Major Blow To Bombardier, As Lego Wins Bid To Provide Next Generation of VIA Rail trainsWicked, and perfect timing with the release of the new Lego passenger train that looks remarkably similar.
Quebec and Windsor are the least problematic spots for turning the train, as Quebec has the wye right in front the station, whereas there are only two trains which arrive and depart Windsor the same day (Nevertheless, the 75 minutes between arrival train 73 and departure train 78 is a constant source of the latter departing delayed). However, the real problems are at Ottawa and especially Toronto (where the next wye is at Mimico and far too short for long trains, which might be one of the reasons why 69 continues to Aldershot, as it can be wyed nearby at Bayview Junction). The result is that rather than focusing longer trains on where demand is highest (Toronto-Ottawa/Montreal) and operating the other parts of the Corridor (Southwestern Ontario and Ottawa-Montreal-Quebec) with shorter trains, you may be forced to run trains which often don't have the right size (as you would otherwise need to spread the fixed number of cars available over a higher number of trainsets in operation). Another barrier to efficiency is the Renaissance fleet, as there are only two sets in operation, which requires a third set as backup (thus limiting fleet utilisation to two-thirds), while adding a bunch of other constraints such as frequent over-night stays at Montreal Maintenance Center).
Therefore, ordering a slightly lower seat count (than what is currently available "on the paper") is certainly not a "death by a thousand paper cuts", it's effectively a one-for-one replacement of current physical seat capacity and will allow a further increase in seating capacity offered. And who knows, maybe the federal government will decide in one of their next budgets to complement the current "fleet replacement" project by a "fleet expansion" program...
The LRCs are in urgent need of replacement and the Renaissance will follow them sooner rather than later. Conversely, the HEP cars (especially those currently undergoing upgrades, such as for accessibility) may remain in service, either on other services or as backups...
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micheal_can
Senior Member
So, they are a replacement fleet?
SaugeenJunction
Senior Member
Yes they are a replacement fleet. All LRC and Renaissance cars are at the end of their life and will be retired. The existing HEP cars will be reallocated elsewhere, I presume.
littlewill1166
Active Member
I'm guessing that there will be a procurement soon for long distance cars to replace the renaissance sleepers, or is VIA just going to be shuffling the HEP cars around?
Urban Sky
Senior Member
According to VIA's website, it has 29 Chateau sleepers, 40 Manor sleepers, 14 Park cars and 13 dining cars and it's not that difficult to derive the number of consists you need for each overnight service (Ocean: 2, Canadian 4 in summer and 3 in winter and 2 for Winnipeg-Churchill). You can do the maths what happens when you retire a fleet which includes 57 sleepers (though I'd be skeptical that that many are in service) and 3 dining cars...
micheal_can
Senior Member
Could they refurbish those for the non corridor routes?
crs1026
Superstar
That's a good point....can't count those "seats" in the same category as LRC/HEP.
Still, I would have hoped for more room to expand. Other than as an election time bauble, I'm not very optimistic that Ottawa will be forthcoming with money for the option order.
- Paul
SaugeenJunction
Senior Member
The Renaissance cars are evidently badly rotting out and are beyond refurbishment. Also, the LRC cars are built of aluminium frames, which are evidently starting to show cracks. You can't fix that. Unfortunately, both fleets have to be mothballed.
smallspy
Senior Member
Actually, about a quarter of the LRC cars are in fantastic shape. The 23 or so LRC cars that were done by IRSI are good for another 15 years or so - if needed to be. It's the rest of the cars that are the problem.
The other problematic fleet is the HEP2s. Despite their stainless steel construction, most of the cars are suffering from side sill rot due to poor maintenance prior to VIA's ownership. They've only got another 5 years or so left in them. The Siemens fleet can't come soon enough.
Dan
Toronto, Ont.